Zero Week

With a lack of anything motivating, Zero Week really does live up to its name. This “week” is actually closer to 10 days of paperwork, sitting around and wasting time. What’s worse is that since we have 330 Lt’s here for a company with only 300 spots, 30 people will be weeded out. This means that at the end of zero week we’re going to redo the platoon/squad (three squads make up a platoon, three fire teams make up a squad) rosters and 30 Lt’s will have to do this all over again when they pick up with the next company. That sucks. Anyway, this weeding out will move everyone out of their original room and to a new one. Soooo everyone here is living out of suitcases and cars. I didn’t realize how demoralizing it actually is. At first it makes you miserable, but then you get used to it. At least I did. Regardless, I am excited to get to my permanent room, unpack and fully move in. the only down side to this move is leaving the roommates that I now have. My roommates and I get along great. They’re all good guys with a great sense of humor. Speaking of which, I have 6 of them and we all live in 2 Marycrest size rooms joined in the middle by a small bathroom. One side is designated the "sleep side" (packed w/ bunk beds and dressers) and the other is the "study side" equipped with 5 desks and two mini fridges. Our gear is dispersed throughout the rooms. It’s really tight.

We start off every day with a company formation (in this case, six platoons of 55ish) around 5:30 AM and then go into the classroom and fill out paper work or take classes…literally all day. On Wednesday we didn’t leave until 5:30 PM. That was arguably the most un-motivating thing I have ever done. But zero week did hold some motivating events. Thursday we had swim qualification. Combat Water Survival (CWS) is something the Corps has all marines qualified in, to some level. All officers have to be qualified at least CWS 2 (CWS 4 being the easiest to achieve; there are four levels below CWS 1 that few will ever attain). It’s a progressive program through out the morning that qualified us for each level one by one (so at 9am I was CWS 4, 10 AM CWS 3, etc.). For the CWS 4. we had to jump from 15 feet into the water in full uniform and tread water for 4 min. it’s not hard at all because they teach you how to use your uniform to keep you afloat. There are several different techniques, but I opted to take my pants off, tie the ankles together and blow into the waistband to inflate them. Once you have them inflated you put it around your neck like a life jacket. It was awesome, and so easy! Once I did that I just floated there for the whole time. In all honesty it was kind of hard to put my pants back on, but it was worth it. For CWS 2 we had to jump in the water with flak jacket (heavy vest w/ bullet resistant plates) pack (30lbs), weapon (M16A2), Kevlar helmet, and full uniform (boots/camies) from a ten foot platform. Once in the water we had to swim the length of the pool. Then you have to navigate a course through the pool using certain techniques they teach you, and lastly we have to drag a “casualty” across the pool without drowning either one of you (see the progression of difficulty from 4-2?). It’s not really that hard but it does wear you out. It’s a good workout I guess. And surprisingly all that gear does not weigh you down like you might think. The pack actually helps you float-all you have to do is pretend you’re sitting in one of those “sitting down bikes” peddling (literally peddling your feet) and pushing water away from you with your arms (arms together in front of you, then push out). Even though you’re “kicking” and you’d think you should go backwards, you move forward. It’s strange. I hope that’s clear. Swim qual was also good for morale. Being Marines, most everyone wants to be the alpha male or at least look like a bad ass (guilty as charged). That means walking around looking mean and not talking to people for a few days. Events like this generally open the door for conversation, meeting people and letting your guard down as most have proven that they are up to the XYZ task. Regardless, the dynamic has been different since. This week should prove to be the same only we start seeing more doctors. This Thursday will be critical for some people on the fence for Alpha Company. because the PFT is the event that has the most weight in deciding if you pick up on Friday or not. I am confident I’ll be fine, so I am planning for a long day as the training cycle (called the Period of Instruction-POI) officially begins. We will be moving rooms and getting our gear squared away to "hit the ground running" Monday morning. (Jim, where did that originate?!)

What you have just read is only a depiction of Zero Week…it’s not typical of my everyday for the next six months. As the time goes on and we get in to more classes / hands on training and ill have much more interesting things to be writing about. I am looking forward to sharing good stories from the “field” and perhaps some pictures. *My thoughts are a bit scattered right now, but as time goes on and we have a more definitive schedule of events my mind will be more focused and my writing will improve.

Until then, back to reality…